Every time I think we’ve seen the best views we’re going to, I’m corrected. Our mountain bike ride today wasn’t far distance wise, but it was hard. 16.4 miles with 3393′ of climbing. That elevation gain is really over just 8 miles since this was an out and back. Our highpoint today was 10,980…a record this year.
This rugged jeep road gets more and more narrow and degrades continuously until it is only a shale rock double track. I’m not sure anything other than bikes and motorcycles ever goes up there. “Up there” is Red Arrow Road and takes you high up into the mountains with up close and personal views of Hesperus Mountain and Spiller Peak. These giant beauties were the highlight of the ride.
This ride is slow going since the surface is jumbled rock, it’s steep, and in places there were streams of snowmelt running down the surface. It was a VERY quiet day with nobody else around. I sound like a broken record, but each day we are amazed at how much there is to explore out here, and how beautiful all the trees, flowers, ridges, drainages, and forests are.
Tonight is Middle Eastern themed dinner. Derek is making flatbread, the homemade hummus is chilling in the fridge, and his famous turkey meatballs will soon hit the oven. I finished The Lincoln Conspiracy and now I will start Surviving Autocracy. I hope we do.
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